Rossiter shows how women scientists made significant contributions to the war effort, ranging from engineering and nutrition (where both Margaret Mead and Rachel Carson worked well outside their areas of expertise) to metallurgy and the Manhattan Project.

But she tells also of the postwar period, when women scientists were told to accept demotion "cheerfully" and American colleges began concerted efforts to "get the old girls out" and replace them with all-male - and therefore higher-paid and more prestigious - faculty.

Rossiter concludes that the period from 1940 to 1972 was a time when American women were encouraged to pursue an education in science in order to participate in the great professional opportunities that science promised. Yet the patriarchal structure and values of universities, government, and industry confronted women with obstacles that continued to frustrate and subordinate them.

Nevertheless, women scientists made genuine contributions to their fields, grew in professional stature, and laid the foundation for the period after 1972, which saw real breakthroughs on the status of women scientists in America.